Tiger Woods handicap

[laconic517]

No way would they shoot 54 ish with regularlity. However, I believe most tour pros would be shooting somewhere in the low 60's to high 50's on most munis assuming the greens werent absolutely horrible.

[right handed phil mickelson]

Tiger had at least +14 I think. Wait, what are we talking about?

You, sir, just made my day.

[O.B. Right]

No way would they shoot 54 ish with regularlity. However, I believe most tour pros would be shooting somewhere in the low 60's to high 50's on most munis assuming the greens werent absolutely horrible.

Have to agree - I'm looking at the scorecard from my local Muni - course rating 68 - we'll have to assume they fixed the greens a little for Tiger.

There are 5 drive-able par 4's and the par 5's are easily reachable in 2. But 1 putting a par 4 after you've driven the green is pretty rare so let's say those are all birdies. There are 4 par 5's - all short by tour standards so let's get crazy and say he birdies two and eagles two. There are 6 par 3's and they're all pretty easy so let's say he can birdie half of them. So, basically, he would be shooting something in the upper 50's.

[Shanks A Million]

Tour pros are much better than people think. A lot of people fool themselves into believing that tour pros would not play so well at a muni with bumpy greens and divoted fairways, but the tour pros are also used to playing on super fast greens under incredible pressure for huge prizes, something we can't replicate. A friend of mine (pro who plays in tour events) told me that if anyone out there thinks they can play out there, please send them to him and have them place a sizable bet, he could use the money. Many top tour pros have shot in the 50s on municipal golf courses from the back tees. Mickelson shot a 58 earlier this year at a muni in California.

[Harmonious]

Aside from the condition of the greens, the length of the course probably has the most to do with shooting an outrageously low score. For example, my course is more a resort layout than a true muni, so it's in pretty good shape most of the time. From the blues, which are not the tips, it's 7000 yards. There is only one potentally driveable par 4 and three of the par 5's could be reached, but it's not a for-sure. On that type of course, it would be very difficult to get into the 50's just because the approach shots are still 150+ yards, and three of the par 3's are over 180. Making the number of birdies needed to get into the 50's would require an unreal day on the greens. Not saying it couldn't happen, but it would not be a usual day.

Now sure, if they are playing a 6200 muni where all the par 5's and half of the par 4's are reachable, and the par 3's are all 150 yards, then it's much more likely.

[Paradox]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...070101221.html

Theres the start of an answer for what a pro would do on a public course.

From the story, though..I have NEVER played a course that seemed that horribly kept up. Even the worst course I've ever played..you were rewarded for your good shots and the greens were at least smooth.

From the tips at my home course, its 7113 yards so its not a layout, distance-wise, thats far off from what pro's normally would play. I have no doubt that a pro could come to my course and shoot a low 60, though..the course record is a 66, I think it is.

[Shanks A Million]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...070101221.html

Wow... 68 on a course that sounds like Carl Spackler maintains it, then +17 in two rounds at the U.S. Open... Yeah, sounds about right. He shot 12.5 strokes lower on the muni.

[Paradox]

I don't know if people realize what going "under par" on a PGA setup translates to on a muni setup. There are some things that will be different, like the greens..but even still on a course thats in reasonably good shape...they are gonna go low.

[pittpanther]

Wow... 68 on a course that sounds like Carl Spackler maintains it, then +17 in two rounds at the U.S. Open... Yeah, sounds about right. He shot 12.5 strokes lower on the muni.

Wow, that story made the pro sound like a spoiled princess. Never played a muni in his life, grew up playing on country clubs, etc. Last line in the story has the pro basically saying he would rather play Oakmont setup for the US Open, because it "suits his game better."

Just like I've said in the past, assuming the pros don't have multiple practice rounds, assuming they don't have a caddy, there's no way a pro is going to go into the 50s, or even low 60s, on your typical muni. They're going to be bitching and moaning about the conditions, frustrated that their "good" shots still end up with trouble. I do believe that you give the pro half a dozen rounds at a given muni and he'll end up owning it. But not on his first time, especially if he's the type of pro who has only ever played perfect courses in his life.

[majorchamp]

IsleWorth 77.5 rating...gdamn. that is nuts.

[Zeph]

Bumpy greens make a huge difference. Even if you hit it close, a straight putt can bump sideways and miss the hole. The tour greens are often perfectly manicured, so the ball rolls true.

[zeg]

Bumpy greens make a huge difference. Even if you hit it close, a straight putt can bump sideways and miss the hole. The tour greens are often perfectly manicured, so the ball rolls true.

Maybe, but the occasional missed putt because of that will be more than compensated by being able to land and stop the ball on every green and not worry about a slightly long putt trickling several feet past the hole. Most of the low end greens are so slow that unless you're talking about a seriously unmaintained crap hole course, it's not going to be much of an impediment.

[Easy]

Hank Haney said Tiger's handicap on his home course was somewhere around +11. I'll find the source.

Rory McIlroy was a +6 handicap by 14 at his home course, Blackwood I think it's called...

[sean_miller]

Maybe, but the occasional missed putt because of that will be more than compensated by being able to land and stop the ball on every green and not worry about a slightly long putt trickling several feet past the hole. Most of the low end greens are so slow that unless you're talking about a seriously unmaintained crap hole course, it's not going to be much of an impediment.

I don't think anyone is disputing that a PGA Tour player could shoot a very low number on a very easy muni, the OP was suggesting a "low 50s" score was a foregone conclusion and made no clarification on the difficulty of the muni - just said "muni". Low to mid 50s is anywhere from 21 to 15 under par. It would make for more interesting TV than some of the stuff on TGC.

[pittpanther]

I don't think anyone is disputing that a PGA Tour player could shoot a very low number on a very easy muni, the OP was suggesting a "low 50s" score was a foregone conclusion and made no clarification on the difficulty of the muni - just said "muni". Low to mid 50s is anywhere from 21 to 15 under par.

Pro versus Muni - Every week a different tour pro is presented with a different muni to play. The muni will be unfamiliar to the pro. He will be given his bag and balls, a push cart, a scorecard with course map, and a pencil. He is allowed 15 minutes to warm up at whatever range the muni has, if any. No caddie, no practice rounds, NO BALL SPOTTERS - find your own ball or take the penalty. If he wants food or drink, bring it himself or buy it at the turn. No sychophants.

Some munis will be short, some long. Some will be very well-groomed, some will be goat tracks. Some munis will play like country clubs, others will penalize even their best shots due to poor grooming. This is the way I play golf. I would put money that the average score at the end of the season won't be below 65, with several rounds above par. Put this on TGC, edit each round down to an hour - I would watch.

[max power]

Pro versus Muni - Every week a different tour pro is presented with a different muni to play. The muni will be unfamiliar to the pro. He will be given his bag and balls, a push cart, a scorecard with course map, and a pencil. He is allowed 15 minutes to warm up at whatever range the muni has, if any. No caddie, no practice rounds, NO BALL SPOTTERS - find your own ball or take the penalty. If he wants food or drink, bring it himself or buy it at the turn. No sychophants.

I would too-great idea for a show.

[sean_miller]

Pro versus Muni - Every week a different tour pro is presented with a different muni to play. The muni will be unfamiliar to the pro. He will be given his bag and balls, a push cart, a scorecard with course map, and a pencil. He is allowed 15 minutes to warm up at whatever range the muni has, if any. No caddie, no practice rounds, NO BALL SPOTTERS - find your own ball or take the penalty. If he wants food or drink, bring it himself or buy it at the turn. No sychophants.

I would too-great idea for a show.

We should pitch that to the Golf Channel - the production costs would be low (portable digital camera) and it would bring back the feeling of the old Shell World of Golf series.

Coincidentally though - I posted that in the wrong thread. The OP in this thread said nothing about a PGA Tour pro shooting low 50s on a muni - my bad!

[Shanks A Million]

Pro versus Muni - Every week a different tour pro is presented with a different muni to play. The muni will be unfamiliar to the pro. He will be given his bag and balls, a push cart, a scorecard with course map, and a pencil. He is allowed 15 minutes to warm up at whatever range the muni has, if any. No caddie, no practice rounds, NO BALL SPOTTERS - find your own ball or take the penalty. If he wants food or drink, bring it himself or buy it at the turn. No sychophants.

God almighty, that's a

great idea. Seriously, that's one of the best ideas for a show I've ever heard. And for fun, put them with a few guys from the club, maybe like, the club champ, a guy with a goofy swing, and the best kid at the course? And don't bring them down here to our nice munis, but these Spackleresque monstrosities in Indiana or Delaware or something.